18/12/2009

Is Paris Afraid Of Failure?

As I begin my post/rant I think it would be beneficial (fun too) to watch this video. It talks about Paris's new generation of designers. The video is an extract from a programme that I watched over at Style Bubble. You're welcome to check out the entire thing. (This clip is the fourth one down)

As far as I'm aware Paris doesn't have any sponsorship programmes so the designers are almost set to fail from the start unless they are able to finance it themselves. London has Fashion East and Fashion Fringe; also the press are keen to see who the next trendsetter will be. Basically: there's no snobbery towards the unknown.

This program confirmed that indeed Paris has some amazing talent. If monetary funds were available for them to fall back on, I believe even more would surface to smell the fashion world. Amongst the brilliant names mentioned, it was Alexandre Vauthier that really caught my eye. He has a talent, that is clear from only a few images of his collection. And yet , still, no help.

Is Paris afraid of failure? The city has status and the designers have power. The reviews overall are always positive. No one would dare say a bad word against Chanel or Gaultier. The new designers, sometimes, get a time slot to attempt success but the fashion crowd (power players) don't bother showing up. I think it is the fear that someone attempts a creation that's outside Paris's high standards. In the future, I hope Paris takes a chance on the talent that is holed up in apartments trying to get exposure.

P.S. Ironically as I write this post I am also watching Rihanna perform on Jonathan Ross wearing Alexandre Vauthier and I remember that she's sporting his dress in the video for Russian Roulette. Maybe whilst the fashion crowd ignore the talent, the celebrities can use their powers of advertising to promote the new (true? as in non-commercial, slightly wilder) talent.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rihanna scares me, but i have recorded that Johnny Ross lol.

This is a great point for you to make, sort of brings it to people's attention a lot more! A.V vertainly does look telented, those dresses are bloody amazing, I'm surprised Gaga hasn't got her hands on that last one ! Lol.

toxic disco boy said...

have you read anna wintour's comment on this? haha. i totally agree. people should be more open.

JIM Designs said...

VEry interesting!